Paralympics Australia begins a new era

A new era begins today as Paralympics Australia becomes the new name of the organisation formerly known as the Australian Paralympic Committee.

The new brand identity and recrafted logo features a smart and contemporary approach, based on the key design principles of simplicity, flexibility and accessibility.

“The name change to Paralympics Australia accurately reflects our organisation’s purpose to manage, prepare and deliver Australian Teams to the Paralympic Games, but importantly, also recognises our position as the peak body in Australian disability sport and our growing role to provide more opportunities for Australians to engage in Para-sport,” said Lynne Anderson, Chief Executive of Paralympics Australia.

“The design is smart and fresh. The colours combine contemporary blues and gold with green added for Australian Team branding.

"We love this new name and refreshed brand identity and it is exciting to be able to now share it publicly.

“It is a change that has been spoken about for many years within our organisation and we are proud to have had the strength and capacity to finally deliver it.”

The new brand identity is designed to work aesthetically and functionally across print, digital and broadcast and retain visual equity from grassroots to the elite level.

The refreshed logo is an evolution rather than a revolution of the previous design. The key changes include the depiction of the athlete facing forward, rather than backwards, to reflect the positive and advancing nature of the Paralympic movement.

“Para-sport and Para-athletes have come of age in Australia. The growing appreciation and respect for our Paralympians and the desire for greater equity and inclusion of Para-sport becomes more evident every day,” Anderson said.

“As the Australian Paralympic movement continues to influence and empower more Australians, so does its peak body. The Australian Paralympic Committee was a name that no longer captured our organisation’s broad role within Australian sport.

“We are very excited to move into the future as Paralympics Australia. The new brand will begin rolling out this week and will continue in phases during the year.”

The Australian Paralympic Federation (APF) was established in 1990 to act as the peak body for disability groups with the responsibility to coordinate elite Australian athletes with a disability to compete at the Paralympic Games. In 1998, the APF changed its name to the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) and a new logo was created. In the years that followed, subtle changes to the logo were made, including the most recent refresh which took place in 2013.

In 2018, the APC Board endorsed a change of name from the Australian Paralympic Committee to Paralympics Australia. The change was unanimously adopted by its members at the Annual General Meeting last November.